Charles Henry Harris Collection
Scope and Content
The Charles Henry Harris (CHH) Collection contains newspaper clippings and photographs collected by CHH in the course of his profession as a newspaperman and author. The newspaper clippings are of his work. This collection contains 400 clippings that were considered for inclusion in his book The Harris History; most show signs of editing. Of these, only 200 were actually used. Included are the two series "From Memory's Well," and "Visits to Little-Known District Spots" or "Visits to Little-Known Areas of the District," along with numerous columns with no series title. The subjects of the columns cover the southeastern Ohio counties of Athens, Gallia, Hocking, Meigs, Morgan, Vinton, and nearby Mason County, West Virginia.
The collection also contains more than 200 photographic prints of the same southeastern Ohio Counties as the articles, except for Morgan County. Homes, public buildings, and local families are pictured in these. The greatest number of prints are of Meigs County subjects and scenes, with Athens County the next most numerous. Gallia, Hocking, Mason, and Vinton Counties are represented by just a few images. The newspaper photographs here were taken by CHH, but there are also some older family pictures given to him. Most of the photographs of families and homes are organized or identified by locality rather than by county. The public buildings are identified by county.
The collection also includes two incidental clippings concerning the history of Ohio University dated 1910 and 1912, which may have been written by CHH.
Dates
- Creation: 1948-1957
Creator
- Harris, Charles Henry, 1884-1962 (Person)
Language of Materials
The records are in English.
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open under the rules and regulations of the Ohio University Libraries.
Conditions Governing Use
Ohio University retains all property rights to the collection.
Ohio University retains all copyrights unless retained by the donor, other correspondents, or other artists.
Biography of Charles Henry Harris
Charles Henry Harris was born in Athens, Ohio in November 1884 and remained a member of the community until his death in 1962. He graduated from Athens High School on 1902 and continued on to Ohio University, graduating in 1906.
Harris was associated with the Athens Messenger newspaper from its first daily issue in 1905. His positions included reporter, managing editor, district editor, and later in his career as author of a series of local history articles. CHH reputedly authored 1,000 articles for his local history series published in the Athens Messenger from 1948-1957. These articles and accompanying photographs later became the basis for his 1957 book, The Harris History.
In addition to his service with the Athens Messenger, Harris was employed by Ohio University as a part-time journalism instructor for more than twenty years. Harris also served as Clerk of City Council for 34 years (1911-1945), and as a Councilmember from October 1948-December 1951. He founded and served as the first president of Ohio's Blue Pencil Club, organized for newspaper editors and copyreaders. He was honored as an Ohio author by the Martha Kinney Cooper Ohioana Library Association.
Extent
1.33 cubic feet
Abstract
The Charles Henry Harris (CHH) Collection contains newspaper clippings and photographs collected by CHH in the course of his profession as a newspaperman and author.
Statement of Arrangement
These records are organized into the following series:
- Series 1: Articles
- Series 2: Photographs
Other Finding Aid
A paper copy of the finding aid is available.
Acquisition Information
The Ohio University Archives received the collection as a gift on an undetermined date sometime prior to 1971.
Existence and Location of Copies
Ohio University will entertain requests to photocopy reasonable amounts of material from the collection for the convenience of individual researchers.
Description Note
Original, legacy collection inventories may contain inaccuracies or be incomplete. Collection descriptions may change or be updated as they are verified. Please contact Mahn Center staff if you note any errors or discrepancies.
Geographic
Topical
Uniform Title
- Title
- Finding aid for the Charles Henry Harris Collection
- Author
- Charles A. Sherrill preliminarily processed the collection on July 1979. Janet Carleton-Smith processed it more completely in Spring 1990.
- Date
- 2020
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English
- Sponsor
- The finding aid was converted into EAD with funding support from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.
Revision Statements
- 5 January 2024: Subjects and other notes added from ALICE MARC records and Mahn Center Microsoft Office finding aids by Ohio University Libraries Metadata Services Department Python scripts.
Repository Details
Part of the Mahn Center for Archives and Special Collections Repository
